What is the real legacy
of pirate radio in Ireland? The 30th anniversary of the introduction
of a new Wireless Telegraphy Act and the closedown of many of Ireland’s most
iconic and successful pirate radio stations has been broadcast but was there
more to that period other than the rosy tinted nostalgia for a pre-social
media, fake news and Brexit time?
Pirate radio has a long
tradition in Ireland dating back to the 1916 Rising when a rebel radio
apparatus made Ireland the first nation in the world to be declared by radio.
In Britain, the pirate radio that created the need for a pop music channel was
located on the high seas with the likes of Radio Caroline but in Ireland the
radio buccaneers remained on dry land. The plethora of pirate radio stations in
Ireland exposed the listening public to the possibility of an alternative to
RTE Radio. It created an awareness of the power of radio and it also
demonstrated to financial giants that radio in Ireland could generate huge
turnovers.
Pirate radio across
Ireland in cities, towns and villages gave a voice to communities and allowed
local businesses to advertise local people. The golden era of pirate radio for
the decade 1978 to 1988 was the birth of a fledgling radio industry that today
directly employs hundreds of people and indirectly thousands in ancillary
service such as transmission provision, PR companies and advertising agencies.
In the late seventies the hobby, bedroom room, homemade transmitter pirate
station was making way for more grounded yet still illegal stations with
imported purposely built transmitters, studios and offices located in Georgian
buildings and formats that were attracting listeners and advertisers.
It created a host of
media personalities many of them still on radio and television today. Household
names trained and mentored on pirate radio. Pirate radio was a beacon of light
in times of local crises. RTE is a national state broadcaster trying to cater
to everyone’s needs and tastes while BLB was Bray Local Broadcasting in every
sense of its title. When Hurricane Charlie struck the seaside town in 1986, BLB
was the glue that held a community together. It informed, it comforted and it
made a difference. In Clonmel on CBC Radio during a severe snow storm, the station's phone was the link that help to summon the assistance of the Aer Corps helicopters for stranded pregnant weapon and farmers in desperate need to get fodder to their animals. It was to the pirate stations that Schools got in touch with to tell pupils and staff that their school was either closed or in the aftermath re-opening.
Pirate radio transmitters were often homemade but they
offered choice. The airwaves were filled with pop music, country music, rock,
dance and easy listening even the Catholic church had their own pirate
transmitters to bring their services to their communities.
Without pirate radio some
of Ireland’s most famous musicians would not have had a platform for success.
Would U2 have become the global force they have become if in the 1970s and '80s
they were solely reliant on RTE Radio 2 for exposure? Their first airplay was a
demo tape on Big D Radio. Would Daniel O’Donnell have become the massive star
he is without the airplay from TTTR, Radio Star Country or Mid West Radio? Musically Ireland would have been unable to punch above its weight as a small island on the global music scene without the influence of the pirate radio stations.
Pirate radio shone a
light on dull, dark Ireland and for that as a nation we should be thankful and
praise the contribution of all those pirate broadcasters across Ireland we have
made a difference.
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